CBP Officers Arrest 6 with Nearly $929K in Hard Drugs

TUCSON, Ariz. – Customs and Border Protection officers arrested four Mexican nationals and two Arizona women, during separate weekend smuggling attempts at the Port of Nogales.

Two packages disguised as burritos where determined to be more than a pound of meth, by a CBP narcotics detection canine

Officers first referred a 23-year-old Nogales, Ariz. woman for further inspection when she crossed through the Morley Pedestrian Gate on May 20. A positive alert by a CBP narcotics-detection canine led officers to slightly more than a pound of meth, worth more than $3,000. The drugs were disguised as a bag of burritos.

A short time later, officers at the Dennis DeConcini crossing referred a 45-year-old Mexican national male for a secondary inspection of his Chevrolet truck. When searching the dashboard area, officers located nearly 28 pounds of cocaine. The drugs are valued at more than $311,000.

On May 21, officers referred a 38-year-old Mexican national male for further inspection of his Ford truck at the DeConcini crossing. After a CBP narcotics-detection canine alerted to the center console area of the truck, officers removed nearly 16 pounds of cocaine, worth nearly $179,000 concealed around the transmission.

Officers found a combination of meth and heroin within the tailgate of a smuggling vehicle referred for further inspection

The following day, officers referred a 43-year-old Mexican national and his 40-year-old Mexican spouse for an inspection of his Chevrolet sedan at the Nogales West/Mariposa crossing. Again, with assistance from a narcotics-detection canine, officers found almost 24 pounds of cocaine, valued at nearly $271,000, and nearly 10 pounds of meth, exceeding $28,900 in value.

Later that evening, officers at the DeConcini crossing referred a 60-year-old Glendale, Ariz. woman for further inspection of her Ford truck. A drug canine alerted officers to the tailgate, where officers removed more than 27 pounds of meth, worth nearly $82,000, as well as more than three pounds of heroin, worth nearly $54,000.

Officers seized the vehicles and drugs, and turned the subjects over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.